This invention was developed with private funds and there were no federally assisted funds.
This section is not applicable to this subject matter.
1. Field of the Invention
The subject is a tube for conveying a liquid.
An example is a hose for conveying water for a lawn, garden, or to extinguish a fire, or to wash an automotive vehicle, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
A patent search was made on the Internet at website http://www.uspto.gov. A conflicting invention was not found in the patent search.
Garden hoses have been used for a number of years.
There are different grades in garden hoses. Garden hoses are generally made from a plastic and there may be imbedded a cloth mesh in the garden hose to add strength. A garden hose, in cross-section is round and approximately one inch in outside diameter. The length of the garden hose can vary but mainly it is 50 feet in length and a number of garden hoses can be connected together to form a longer hose.
A garden hose has a tendency to kink by folding over on itself.
The kink weakens the garden hose and it also restricts the flow of water in the garden hose. A person watering the lawn with a garden hose must remove the kink in the hose to allow the water to flow. It takes time to remove the kink in the garden hose and it is annoying to stop work to remove the kink. This can be important where a person is being employed to water the garden. This employed person must take time to remove the kink and thereby lessens his productive effort.
A garden hose can be wound in a circle or a coil and stored. Many times a kink forms in the circle or coil and it is difficult to keep from forming a kink when winding in a circle or a coil.
Another hose which is frequently used is a fire hose. The fire hose is of canvas and when not in use it is flat. Water in flowing through the fire hose expands the fire hose.
The subject is a tube for conveying a liquid and which tube will, generally, not twist and kink. The tube is sufficiently stiff to not kink and fold back on itself. However, the tube can be made into a coil and stored.
The side walls of the tube are thicker than the top and bottom walls so as to give more rigidity to the tube, and as a result the tube will not kink and fold back on itself.
The thickening of the side walls of the tube can be realized by having outriggers on the tube. The outriggers stiffen the tube and make it more difficult for the tube to kink.
The tube can be manufactured from readily available plastic such as polyvinyl chloride, neoprene, EPDM, vinyl nitrile. Also a low density polyethylene, polypropylene, or Krayton are suitable elastomers.
As the tube can be extruded with the use of these elastomers, the cost to manufacture the tube is a relatively low cost.
Also, these elastomers are light in weight.
The tube has a tendency to lie flat because of thickened side walls due to outriggers or an elliptical configuration.
It takes less space to stock and store the tube in a warehouse or retail store as the tube can readily be wound onto a reel or formed into a coil.
I have found that the tube drags more easily around obstructions than the standard garden hose which in a lateral view is circular.